The social power of algorithms

“Here, we see the role of algorithms, as decision-making parts of code (see Beer, 2013, p. 65), as being analytic and decisive (for a discussion of the role of algorithms in data analytics, see Kitchin, 2014, pp. 100–112).”

“Thus, ethnography can emphasize the complex interplay between the power of algorithms (Beer, 2017) and the power of hype (Milne, 2020), between the hyperbolic fantasies of algorithmic futures and the socio-algorithmic realities that underpin them.”

“…in this field agree that the use of algorithms and machine learning in public and other forms of decision-making has profound implications and can recalibrate power relations and lead to often unintended and unfore-seen consequences (Beer, 2017; Crawford, 2021; Eubanks, 2018; O’Neil, 2016).”

“In this context, knowledge becomes detached from context and embedded in mathematical abstraction (Beer 2017).”

“…it is necessary to look beyond narrow technical understandings of algorithms to grasp the in fl uence and power they exude in various sites of use (Beer 2017; Del Casino et al. 2020; Jaton and Vinck 2023), critical inquiry becomes dif fi cult if the concept of algorithm is equated with and only…”

“…truth effect has surfaced in research related to the social power of algorithms and their impact on the perception of truth, on misinformation, the spread of conspiracy theories online, and the potential of utilising digital platforms to impact election outcomes (Beer 2017; Vellani et al. 2023).”

“Platforms intervene (Gillespie, 2015), without being neutral and unbiased, but embedded with specific sociocultural logics and private interests (e.g. Beer, 2017).”

“In doing so, I join many others seeking to question not only the presumed objectivity and neutrality of analytics (Johnson, In Press) but also the power dynamics at play in building the algorithm, collecting and using the data, and selling AI and analytics (Beer, 2017; Benjamin, 2019; D'Ignazio & Klein, 2020; Diakopou…”

“The ongoing surges in computational capacities (Beer, 2017) in both volume and rapidity of data management through quantum Corresponding author: Marian Eabrasu, EM Normandie Business School, Métis Lab, 64 Rue du Ranelagh, Paris 75016, France.”

“Previous studies have predominant ly deduced the relevance of algorithmic selection and algorithmicselection ap plications either from purely theoretical reasoning or from nongeneralizable em pirical investigations (Abril, 2016; Baek & Kim, 2016; Beer, 2017; Park, 2019, Yang & Men, 2020).”

“Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/11/ 13/facebook-news-feed-algorithm-how-to-turn-it-off/ [44] D. Beer, “The social power of algorithms,” Information, Communication & Society, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 1–13, 2017.”

“In stark contrast to this apparent ‘lightness’ are concerns around the increasing pervasiveness of surveillance and algorithmic decision-making [13, 38]; the commercialization of personal data [7] digital promiscuity [42], the reality of “digital serfdom” [23], and the implications of downstream use of personal data b…”

“…auténticas máquinas culturales (Finn, 2018) que no solo sirven para resolver un problema específico: modelan formas de ser 6 Hacia una teoría crítica de la razón algorítmica - Antonio Fernández-Vicente y de actuar, patrones de comportamiento regidos por la lógica social algorítmica (Beer, 2017).”

“For example, the British Academy and The Royal Society (2017: 51) propose quite general principles such as the promotion of “human flourishing,” which also include the protection of “individual collective rights and interests,” requirements of accountability, inclusive and democratic…”

“The choices made by these systems are usually based on individual and aggregate user behaviour to decide the visibility and prominence of content, often reflecting commercial priorities (Beer 2017).”

“Ethical problems can also arise as predictive modelling has to involve some level of categorisation of people and social problems, leading to the marginalisation of groups and individuals (Boyd and Crawford 2012; Chandler and Fuchs 2019).”

“This speaks to what Beer (2017) calls the “social power” of algorithms, that is, the capacity for algorithmic computation to mediate and define the contours of online sociality and to act as a stand-in for even offline dialogic and communicative encounters.”

“In media studies, algorithms are typically interrogated as cultural agents and as cultures in and of themselves (Beer, 2017; Bucher, 2012; Seaver, 2017).”

“…are poised to transform the landscape of media and communication by enabling personalized content delivery, automating decision-making, reconfiguring productivity, enabling new forms of content creation, and creating new interactive user experiences (Beer, 2017; Lundahl, 2022; Stige et al., 2023).”

“Algorithms have become embedded in all fields of society, comprising a basic framework for understanding communication practices and social life (Amoore & Piotukh, 2015; Beer, 2017; Willson, 2017).”

“Risikoscorings 7 spielen ebenso bei der Entwicklung sogenannter „smart borders“ eine große Rolle (wo es darum geht, zwischen risikoreichen und risiko-armen Reisenden zu unterscheiden, vgl. Mau 2021, 2020), oder auch beim Scoring im Justizwesen.”

“In their work on the role of platforms and of algorithms, respectively, Gillespie (2010) and Beer (2017) both emphasize how increasing levels of technical sophistication obscure these technical elements ’ power.”

“Social media architectures rely on code and algorithms which shape our engagement with the platforms while the notion and representations of algorithms affect and feed popular culture (Beer, 2017; Bucher, 2017).”

“Beer (2017b, 2018, 2019) argues that the data analytics industries reveal changing beliefs in credibility and authority for governing social phenomena through specific rationalities and imaginaries of data analytics.”

“…systems not only enable us to do things (banking, dieting, learning, driving and dating, for example) more ef fi ciently, they also come to stand in for us – to represent us in ways that are increasingly accepted as more accurate and truthful than other sources (Beer, 2017: 1; Munn et al., 2023).”

“Algorithms, although largely imperceptible, have become increasingly ingrained in our lives (Beer, 2017; Willson, 2017).”

“This research draws on ‘everyday lived experiences of algorithms and their affects’ (Beer, 2017: 6), building upon the literature on user practice surrounding algorithmic (in)visibility on social media platforms.”

“They are not powerful in and out of themselves but are embedded in a complex of practices, technologies and infrastructures which lend them their power (Beer 2017; Bucher 2018; Crawford 2021).”

“In addition, in these times of digital transformation—such as the use of algorithm-based decision-making [36]—management is being negotiated with a central focus on issues of privacy [37], accountability [38, 39], transparency [40–42], power [43, 44], and social control [45–47].”

“The role and impact of algorithmic processes and the extractive models underlying digital platforms have received an increasing interest from researchers within the interdisciplinary fi eld of critical algorithm studies (e.g., Beer, 2017; Airoldi, 2022).”

“Technological entities, such as AI, may also have social status, given the notion of AI represents a ranked cultural category (we will return to this below in the next section) (Beer 2016).”

“Thus, as ADMS increasingly embed themselves within society, we argue that this necessitates a critical interrogation of the underlying frameworks, power asymmetries, and knowledge constructs that shape these systems (Beer, 2017; Kitchin, 2017).”

“By considering in empirical detail how “algorithms are lived with” (Beer, 2017:4) and imagined, gamed or contested by their users (Christin, 2017; Crawford, 2016), it is possible to balance pre-eminent narratives of the “powerful [algorithms] that rule, sort, govern, shape, or otherwise control our…”

“This dual mediation alters how individuals perceive social approval and behavioral feasibility, indicating a shift in the locus of influence from interpersonal persuasion to algorithmic sociality (Beer 2017 ).”

“A plethora of studies has documented that Internet algorithms can act as devices of control (Beer, 2017; Nakamura, 2009; Galloway, 2006) and that the harvesting of personal data for profit contributes to the exploitation of marginalized groups (Introna and Wood, 2004; Ananny, 2011; Noble, 2016).”

“The presentation of the app in this way intersected with concerns about the merging of algorithmic and human agency [8,9,39,88] because the app is presented as performing the job of a human.”

“1 On the one hand, algorithms construct the choice architecture that users see; algorithms are ‘organizational structures’ that become integrated into the choice-making processes of people’s lives (Beer, 2017, p. 5).”

“The study reveals ethnic minority wanghongs ’ strategic use of authenticity in content creation, driven by an “ Algorithmic Imaginary ” (Beer, 2017; Bishop, 2020; Bucher, 2017) — creators ’ perceptions and responses to platform content mechanics.”

“Researchers like Beer (2009, 2017b), Mackenzie (2006) and Bucher (2012, 2013) have highlighted the importance of unravelling the power play of platforms through analysing their infrastructural elements.”

“This leads to the emergence of data politics (Ruppert et al. 2017) that concern themselves with how algorithms function (Seaver 2019), what biases they introduce (Lazer 2015; Bozdag 2013), and how they influence the individuals and social groups (Taylor 2017; Beer 2017).”

“The role of algorithms in digital communication is growing so much that it becomes a determining factor in social relations (Beer, 2017).”

“Hence, ‘[w]e need to look beyond the algorithms themselves to explore how the concept of the algorithm is also an important feature of their [digital devices’] potential power’ (Beer, 2017: 7).”

“В настоящее время проблематизируется вопрос статусов новых драйверов политического противоборства, которые пока сложно обозначить традиционным понятием «субъект» (цифровые личности, цифровые платформы, цифровые алгоритмы и другие действующие цифровые актанты), но которые существенно влияют на…”

“They have social power (Beer, 2017) that comes through both their outputs and their effects.”